White Consuls
The White Consuls is a Loyalist Second Founding Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines. Unlike other Astartes Chapters, they are unusual in that they maintain two Chapter Masters at the same time. During the 13th Black Crusade, after the fall of Cadia and the birth of the Great Rift in 999.M41, the White Consuls' Chapter homeworld of Sabatine was overrun and destroyed by the surging Forces of Chaos, but the Chapter itself managed to survive. Chapter History The White Consuls are listed in the Apocrypha of Davio as having derived from the Ultramarines' gene-seed, and would thus be direct-line descendants of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman. According to the Mythos Angelica Mortis they are one of the Astartes Praeses, the twenty Chapters of Space Marines created specifically to defend the Imperium of Man from the threat presented by the Eye of Terror. The White Consuls' current Chapter Master is Cymar Xydias, though unlike other Astartes Chapters, the White Consuls normally maintain two Chapter Masters at the same time. The other Chapter Master office remains vacant at this time. Notable Campaigns *'Fateweaver Denied (798.M37)' - The White Consuls prevailed against the daemonic legions of the infamous Greater Daemon Kairos Fateweaver. *'The Scouring of Lethe (Unknown Date.M41)' - Alongside the Grey Knights and several Ordo Malleus Inquisitors, the White Consuls helped destroy the Flame Falcons Space Marine Chapter during the Scouring of Lethe when they mistook the Flame Falcons' fiery bodies as a sign of their corruption by Chaos. *'Liberation of the Ophidian Sub-sector (Unknown Date.M41)' - During the Liberation of the Ophidian sub-sector, the White Consuls helped capture 33 rogue psykers. However, the White Consul Astartes present at the subsequent Victory Triumph where the psykers were being paraded as the spoils of war took heavy casualties when the psykers managed to escape once more from the Imperium's clutches. *'The Gothic War (139.M41 - 160.M41)' - The White Consuls was one of many Space Marine Chapters deployed to the Gothic Sector to protect it against the vile Archtraitor Abaddon the Despoiler and his Chaos forces during the Gothic War (12th Black Crusade). *'The Achilus Crusade (777.M41)' - The White Consuls contributed a large contingent to the Achilus Crusade to retake the Jericho Reach for the Imperium, contributing approximately two companies and their support units. The largest action seen by the White Consuls during the Crusade was the extraction of a Deathwatch Kill-team on the Death World of Polyphemnos against Ogryn mutants. It concluded with the successful rescue of the Kill-team, at the cost of a White Consuls squad which was consumed by the mutants. As a consequence, the White Consuls demanded that the Deathwatch help recover the slain squad's wargear and hunt down the Ogryn leader responsible for their deaths. *'Siege of the Boros Gate (Unknown Date.M41)' - Five companies of the White Consuls Chapter were fielded to repel the Word Bearers Traitor Marines and later the Necrons under the Necron Lord called the Undying One. The Traitor forces, led by the Grand Apostle Ekodas of the Word Bearers' Inner Circle, would throw more than ten thousand Traitor Astartes, an entire demi-company of Chaos Titans and a fleet of more than 15 capital class vessels at the Boros System, which he intended to use as a stepping stone for a future Chaos invasion of the Segmentum Solar during the 13th Black Crusade. The Word Bearers used an ancient Necron artefact, known as the Nexus Arrangement, to cut off Imperial reinforcements to the Boros System. The Nexus Arrangement was an orb capable of creating a stasis field around an undetermined area of space-time, presumably blanketing an entire world. This stasis field only repelled Warp travel to the area of affect, preventing outside aid from reaching the target and allowing the wielder of the artefact to wreak havoc on the planet below free of harassment. As a result, the White Consuls were only able to deploy five companies and a portion of their Chapter fleet to defend the system before the activation of the Necron artefact prevented any further reinforcements. Nearly two-hundred Consuls perished in the opening solar hours of the campaign as the outnumbered Imperial fleet was savaged by Ekodas' armada. The rest retreated to Boros Prime where they fought a grueling war of attrition over the next few solar months against the forces of the Archenemy with the aid of the planet's Astra Militarum regiments. Strike teams of Imperial Guardsmen, led by Space Marine officers, retook captured Defence Lasers and turned them upon the bulk landers of the invaders, while vast tank columns overwhelmed and destroyed Traitor Titans. The ancient Star Fort Kronos waited in orbit, keeping the enemy from attaining orbital supremacy. Near the end of the conflict, less than seven thousand Word Bearers remained alive. But their stubborn defence also cost the Imperials dearly. Losses were counted in the millions amongst the Astra Militarum and the White Consuls themselves soon numbered less than a hundred surviving Astartes. Worse, Boros Prime, once a shining beacon of order and prosperity that the White Consuls had spent many standard years developing as one of their protectorates, lay in ruins; its population decimated and its cities gutted wrecks, infested by screaming daemons and savage Chaos Cultists. The Imperials' salvation would come from an unlikely source as a Necron Tomb Ship arrived at Boros Prime, its master, the Undying One, eager to reclaim the Nexus Arrangement for himself. Destroying the Star Fort Kronos and making planetfall with his legions, the cybernetic xenos began to massacre Traitors and Loyalists alike in their quest to regain their artefact. Desperate to escape the wrath of the undying Necrons, Dark Apostle Marduk destroyed the Nexus Arrangement with a Vortex Grenade. With their prize gone, the Necrons left the system and Imperial reinforcements began to stream in at last, their passage no longer blocked by the xenos technology. Ekodas was killed by the arrival of a contingent of the Grey Knights and much of his fleet was destroyed by the vengeful guns of the Imperial Navy. The remainder of the Word Bearers, including Dark Apostle Marduk, escaped to the Word Bearers' Daemon World of Sicarus. Only three White Consuls of the five full companies deployed by the Chapter would survive this campaign. The dead included one of the Consuls' Chapter Masters, Titus Valens. *'13th Black Crusade (999.M41)' - The White Consuls deployed to the Cadian Sector to defend it against Abaddon the Despoiler and his Forces of Chaos during the 13th Black Crusade. They successfully reconquered many worlds tainted by Chaos. Unfortunately, after the fall of Cadia and the birth of the Great Rift that cut the Imperium in half, the White Consuls, like so many Space Marine Chapters, found themselves cut off from Imperial reinforcements. Eventually their homeworld of Sabatine was overrun by the surging tide of the Archenemy and it was destroyed by the Chaos forces. Luckily, the bulk of the White Consuls managed to flee before Sabatine was lost, unlike many of their fellow Astartes Chapters in similar circumstances. Chapter Organisation Unlike all other known Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, the White Consuls have two Chapter Masters: one who leads the Chapter in its duties guarding the Eye of Terror, and one who resides on the Chapter's homeworld of Sabbatine and governs it. The White Consuls also administer several star systems in their region as protectorates. Among their number was the Boros System, which the Chapter governed from the Kronos Star Fort, the largest void station in the Segmentum Obscurus, until the entire system was corrupted by Chaos and the Kronos Star Fort destroyed by the Dark Crusade unleashed by the Word Bearers Traitor Legion and the subsequent invasion of Necrons under the Necron Lord known as the Undying One. Proconsul Cassius Ostorius and Coadjutor Gaius Aquilius were the White Consuls tasked with governing Boros and a Proconsul and his subordinate Coadjutor were chosen by the Chapter to govern each of the worlds contained within their protectorate. Every White Consuls Battle-Brother was required to serve as a Coadjutor in the years after rising from the rank of Neophyte, while a selection of Veterans were expected to serve as planetary Proconsuls on the White Consuls' protectorate worlds. A White Consul had to first serve as a planetary Proconsul before he could be promoted to serve as one of the Chapter's squad Sergeants or company Captains. Chapter Combat Doctrine The White Consuls are said to be highly proficient at Drop Pod strikes and are capable of unleashing devastating yet cunning urban assaults. Chapter Beliefs The White Consuls are pious, zealous and uncompromising Space Marines that have a deep and abiding faith in the Emperor of Mankind. The Chapter seems to worship the Emperor of Mankind as a God and appears to be part of the Imperial Cult, unlike most other Astartes Chapters, who revere the Emperor as an extraordinary human being and the rightful leader of Mankind, but not as a deity. They are known to follow the Codex Astartes almost fanatically, like most of the Successor Chapters of the Ultramarines. Chapter Homeworld The White Consuls' homeworld is the planet Sabatine in the Segmentum Pacificus far to the galactic south of the Eye of Terror, which is not only a Chapter homeworld but also a shrine world dedicated to the Imperial Saint Sabat (not to be confused with the Saint Sabbat of the Sabbat Worlds Sector) for whom the world is named and who is revered by the White Consuls. Notable White Consuls *'Chapter Master Titus Valens' - Titus Valens was one of two Chapter Masters of the White Consuls (a unique position amongst the ranks of the Adeptus Astartes) leading the Chapter in the aspect as battlemaster. He was a thick-necked warrior, his massive frame encased in an exoskeleton of Terminator Armour that made his bulk even greater. This Chapter Master possessed an innate understanding of warfare and its psychology. Valens always seemed to know the exact moment to press the assault in order to demoralise the enemy, the exact moment when a line was close to breaking and needed bolstering. He led the Chapter from the fore, an inspiring and prominent figure capable of turning defeat into a resounding victory with one well-timed charge. He excelled in leading his Battle-Brothers against the enemies of Mankind. During the Boros Gate campaign Titus fought valiantly. Leading the assault on the world of Boros Prime, the first planet in the system that the Word Bearers Traitor Legion had recently invaded, Chapter Master Valens was instrumental in turning the tide of battle against the hated forces of Chaos. Standing his ground the Chapter Master held off the attacks from the Chaos Space Marines whilst some of the citizens of Boros Prime, along with a handful of his Battle-Brothers and Imperial Guard soldiers could escape off-planet. Titus was killed in singular combat with Burias Drak'Shal, a daemon-possessed Word Bearers Icon Bearer of that Traitor Legion's 34th Host. *'Chapter Master Cymar Xydias' - Cymar Xydius is one of two Chapter Masters of the White Consuls (a unique position amongst the ranks of the Adeptus Astartes), who had reigned as Chapter Master for almost twelve-hundred years, leading the Chapter in the aspect of Proconsul of Sabbatine and its vassal system -- overseeing the defence of the Chapter's homeworld and commanding a standing force ready at a moment's notice to respond to Chaos incursions through the Cadian Gate. Cymar Xydius is a cunning and capable leader who handles all strategic command and planetary diplomacy. In addition to the Chapter's home world, he is also responsible for maintaining sovereignty over several nearby systems, placing some of the Chapter's officers in temporary positions to oversee the administration of each world prior to their advancement to a higher rank. *'Epistolary Axineton' - Epistolary Axineton is a Librarian of the White Consuls who has only recently come to serve in the Jericho Reach to perform a Vigil with the Deathwatch at Watch Fortress Erioch. Lean-featured, dark-haired, and possessing a grimly superior demeanour, Axineton is caustic and blunt to his peers. He never allows a flaw that he perceives to rest unmentioned, nor a failing go unpunished, and his manner has created a reputation for sneering arrogance and pedantry amongst some of his Deathwatch brethren. Despite this, he is a warrior of unquestionable ability and a psyker of great power; a power that he can wield with the subtlety of a torturer's razor or the brute force of an executioner's axe. As a past veteran of war against the Tyranid menace, he has already provided valuable insight for his peers. Axineton has been fascinated by the secret nature of the Deathwatch's mission in the Jericho Reach since learning of it, and his hungry mind has devoured all he can of the lore and history of Erioch's Omega Vault. He is a constant, but often silent, presence during gatherings of the Chamber of Vigilance, sometimes speaking only to condemn. *'Master of the Fleet Malagar Eringrasp' - A former notable Master of the Fleet of the White Consuls, he saw many engagements over four centuries of service to the Chapter. This all came to an end when his forces were overcome by the Black Legion in the vicinity of Cadia in the fourth century of M41. He surrendered to the Traitors and swore fealty to Abaddon the Despoiler and subsequently went on to become the admiral of the Despoiler's fleet. Now known as Malagar Irongrasp, he served without fail until the Fourth Battle of the Sunward Gap, where he was killed by the Dark Angels Chapter in 959.M41. Chapter Fleet *''Divine Splendour'' (Battle Barge) *''Righteous Fury'' (Battle Barge) *''Sword of Deliverance'' (Battle Barge) - A White Consuls' Chapter Battle Barge that was severely damaged when a Word Bearers fleet attacked it; it was the flagship of the White Consuls' former Chapter Master Titus Valens. *''Sword of Truth'' (Battle Barge) - A White Consuls' Chapter Battle Barge that was captured by the Word Bearers Chaos Space Marines after saving the Sword of Deliverance from destruction; it was filled with atomic warheads and crashed into the Kronos Star Fort. *''Eternal Faith'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Hermes'' (Strike Cruiser) Chapter Relics *''Gauntlet of Sabatine'' - The Gauntlet of Sabatine is a master-crafted Astartes Power Fist. This potent weapon is not currently possessed by either the Chapter that forged it or the Deathwatch. It was brought to the Jericho Reach during the Achilus Crusade by a Veteran Astartes of the White Consuls, only to be lost on the world of Polyphemnos when his squad was overrun by tribes of mutated cannibal Ogryn. The White Consuls have promised the Deathwatch custody of the relic if it could be recovered. Recently, reports have come into Watch Fortress Erioch that the Gauntlet may have already made its way off of Polyphemnos, but not in the hands of the agents of the Crusade or the Deathwatch. Chapter Appearance Chapter Colours The White Consuls' Power Armour is painted white with a yellow Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard. The blue squad specialty symbol (Tactical, Assault, Devastator or Veteran) is indicated on the right shoulder guard. No squad number is displayed. Company designation is indicated by the colour of the shoulder plate trim in accordance with the Codex Astartes -- i.e. White (1st Company), Yellow (2nd Company), Red (3rd Company), Green (4th Company), etc. Chapter Badge The White Consuls' Chapter badge is the profile of a blue, left-facing eagle's head on a white field. This symbol is of the same style as that used by the Black Consuls, with a completely separate colour scheme. Sources *''Battlefleet Gothic'', "To Cleanse the Stars" by Andy Chambers and Matt Keefe *''Codex: Eye of Terror'' (3rd Edition) *''Codex: Space Marines'' (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 8, 18, 141 *''Codex: Space Marines'' (4th Edition), pg. 73 *''Codex: Ultramarines'' (3rd Edition), pg. 42 *''Deathwatch: Core Rulebook'' (RPG), pg. 336 *''Deathwatch: Honour the Chapter'' (RPG), pg. 128 *''Deathwatch: Rites of Battle'' (RPG), pg. 56 *''How To Paint Space Marines'' (2004) *''Insignium Astartes'', pg. 60 *''Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook'' (5th Edition) *''Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook'' (8th Edition), pg. 51 *''Dark Creed'' (Novel) by Anthony Reynolds, pp. 26-37, 75-81, 202, 402 *''Pandorax'' (Novel) by C.Z. Dunn Gallery WC_AstartesRevised.jpg|A White Consuls Tactical Marine WC MK VI Razorback.jpg|White Consuls Mark VI Razorback Armoured Personnel Carrier WC Damocles Rhino.jpg|White Consuls Damocles Pattern Command Rhino Armoured Personnel Carrier Category:W Category:Astartes Praeses Category:Imperium Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Space Marines Category:Ultramarines Category:Second Founding